In Viet Nam, the rich coastal and marine ecosystems, including mangrove forests, coral reefs and sea grass meadows, provide food for millions of Vietnamese people and serve to buffer the impacts of natural disasters on local livelihoods and income security through protection from storm surge and typhoon damage. Fisheries are a significant source of income and nourishment.
Wetland areas – which include mangrove swamps and tidal mudflats – have been central to national economic development. Wetlands are storehouses of globally endangered biodiversity and the production of much of the country’s rice, fish, shrimp and other food staples relies on healthy wetlands, especially in the Red River Delta and Mekong River Delta. In addition, wetlands provide a range of ecosystem services, including groundwater recharge, flood control and water purification.
Forests – which in 2005 covered about 37% of total land area in Viet Nam – provide tangible products such as wood and non-timber forest products (NTFPs). These products support rural community livelihoods and contribute to local and national economies. Forests also provide environmental services through prevention of soil erosion, watershed protection, landscape beauty and wildlife for tourism, while also serving as a carbon sink and a store of biodiversity.
Environmental Services
In many ways, life in Viet Nam is shaped by services and benefits provided by ecosystems and biodiversity. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services. Ecosystem services include products like clean drinking water, processes like nutrient cycles, and functions such as storm buffering. Yet rapid economic growth can result in a significant loss of the ability of the environment to maintain these services. The loss of these services would be a loss of natural capital for the country, a threat that urgently needs to be addressed.
